I'm walking through the shadowy streets of a deserted city. The sky is an eerie shade of luminescent green, the silence is shattered by jagged forks of lightning and blasts of thunder, blowing apart buildings all around me. I walk past numerous corpses, shredded beyond recognition, their faces distorted with silent screams. The ground is sticky with drying blood.
The sound of footsteps stops me. They come from an alley to my right. I turn, dread turning my blood to ice. Far off, in the distance, I can see him, his arms dragging the ground. His hair whips in the hot wind. He turns his head slowly, the bones creaking. He is far away, but I can hear him as if he were but a few feet from me. The light of his eyes finds me. I am frozen in place, unable to move, my breath coming in shallow gasps. He is moving in my direction now, racing with inhuman speed. I find my strength and flee down the street, frantically searching the desolation around me for someplace to hide, a means of escape from the agony I know will come. I duck into a shadowy doorway and mount the stairs, two steps at a time. I reach the top and find myself in a long hallway. I look back down the stairs, searching the darkness for movement. I see none, but I know he will find me. I feel my way down the corridor, stumbling over bloated bodies. The stench is overpowering. Gagging, I edge into an entrance to a room and close the door. I collapse against it and tearfully gasp for breath. Realizing that I am not yet out of danger, I open my eyes and am horrified.
The entire opposite wall of the room is gone, destroyed by some sort of explosion. The scorching wind sears my skin and I shield my face with a trembling hand. I know I cannot remain here but I dread reentering the hall. I sink to the floor, still protecting my face.
"I'll just rest for a moment," I think, huddling against the door, "Then I will find someplace safer."
The wind ceases and a deathly calm descends. I look up, thankful that the gale has stopped. I rise to my feet and step gingerly to the edge of the broken floor, scanning the street below for any sign of him.
The stillness is shattered by the sizzle of lightning and explosion of thunder. As the building across the street bursts into flame a hand grabs my ankle, yanking me from my feet. The edges of the nails cut into my ankle and I scream in pain. Rolling over, I drag myself away from the edge. The grip on my ankle tightens. I look over my shoulder just in time to see Needleteeth climb into the room. With a swift movement, he sinks his fingernails into my hip, grinning obscenely at me. His jagged teeth pierce my calf, ripping through muscle and sinew. With newfound energy, I tear free of his grasp, wounding myself grievously in the process. Dragging my leg behind me, I pull the door open and lurch back into the hallway, slamming the door behind me. Retreating back toward the stairs, I stumble over a slippery corpse and fall to my knees. The door shatters as he crashes through it and his rotted face turns my direction. He cackles and advances upon my quivering body. I drag myself to my feet once more and reach the stairs. I throw myself down them, breaking my lacerated limb in two places, the bone splinters protruding through my skin. I can go no further. I look up and see him, praying that it will end quickly. As he shreds me to the point of death, I wake up.
